A committee appointed by the town board has recommended that Yorktown create a town administrator position.

The committee presented its findings at Tuesday night’s board meeting.
The committee – comprised of members Susan Siegel, Marie Panella, Gerald Knapp, Jared Feinberg, Tricy Cushner, John R. Kibbe, Anthony Grasso and Chairman Aaron Brock – said it felt a city administrator, a fulltime professional, would bring stability and experience to local government.

Siegel explained the recommendation by noting that town supervisors and board members come and go, and many of them have little experience in government when they enter office. A town administrator would give the town an experienced professional who can handle the complexities of government.

Under the policy advocated by the committee, the town would still elect a supervisor for a two-year term and councilmen for four-year terms. However, the town supervisor would become a part-time position. The committee recommended that the administrator’s position should be established in 2010, allowing time to educate the public about the move.

The committee lists the initial expense between $50,000 and $80,000, but felt that the costs would pay for themselves over time due to “increased productivity” and “cost effective measures” that the position would yield. The annual salary of the administrator was estimated by the committee to be between $125,000 and $150,000, including benefits.

Councilman Lou Campisi expressed doubt over the need of a new administrative position.
“Is there something wrong with Yorktown that I don’t know about?” Campisi asked.
Campisi insinuated that the position is similar to one held by former Yorktown Supervisor Linda Cooper in Ossining, and wondered aloud if Cooper was behind the movement to create the position for Yorktown.

Committee member Siegel said that wasn’t the case. “I was the one who brought this up at a work session last October when there was talk of changing the supervisor’s terms from two to four years,”she said.

The town said it needed time to read through the committee’s report, but felt that action needed to be taken.

“We need to decide on this soon” said Councilman Matt Metz.
The board will said it will likely make a decision on the matter some time in June.